REPORT: Russian foreign minister says Syria conference being undermined

Britain said on Tuesday it did not have to wait until an August 1 meeting of European Union foreign ministers before taking a decision to arm Syria's rebels, but stressed it had not yet taken any decision.         

"I must correct one thing of concern. I know there has been some discussion of some sort of August deadline. That is not the case," Foreign Secretary William Hague told BBC radio, adding that Britain was "not excluded" from arming the rebels before August, and that it would not act alone if it chose to do so.          

Meanwhile, efforts to convene an international peace conference on Syria are being undermined by actions involving or backed by Western countries, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was quoted as saying.
   
"A whole range of actions that have been undertaken, not without the participation and not without the support of our Western partners including the United States and France ... are serving to undermine the idea of calling a conference," Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.
   
He gave few details but referred to the U.N. General Assembly which passed a resolution this month that praised the Syrian opposition and condemned President Bashar al-Assad's forces.
 
Earlier, a top Russian official said that Russia reserves the right to provide Syria with state-of-the art air defense missiles, seeing it as a key deterrent against foreign intervention in the country.          

Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov wouldn't say whether Russia has shipped any of the long-range S-300 air defense missile systems, but added that Moscow isn't going to abandon the deal despite strong Western and Israeli criticism.                     

"We understand the concerns and signals sent to us from different capitals, we realize that many of our partners are concerned about the issue," Ryabkov said, adding that "we have no reason to revise our stance."             

"We believe that such steps to a large extent help restrain some 'hot heads' considering a scenario to give an international dimension to this conflict," he said.                    

Ryabkov didn't say when the contract was signed or give any other details.         

It is unclear if Moscow has provided Damascus with any of the S-300s missiles, a powerful weapon that has a range of up to 200 kilometers (125 miles) and the capability to track down and strike multiple targets simultaneously. The weapon would be a major boost for Syria's air defense capabilities, including against neighboring countries that oppose Assad's regime.                            

Ryabkov's statement comes a day after European Union's decision to lift an arms embargo to Syrian opposition. He criticized the EU decision, saying it would help "fuel" the conflict and defended the S-300 deal, saying the air defense weapons can't be used in the civil war against the opposition, which doesn't have aircraft.    

In Damascus, a Syrian lawmaker also criticized the EU decision, saying that efforts to arm the rebels will discourage the opposition from seeking a peaceful solution to the conflict. The comments by Essam Khalil, a member of the parliament for the ruling Baath Party, were the first by a Syrian official.        

Meanwhile, US Sen. John McCain made an unannounced visit to rebel forces in Syria, putting more pressure on Assad to seek a negotiated settlement.              

In this regard, President Barack Obama's spokesman Jay Carney told reporters that the White House was aware in advance of Senator McCain's trip to Syria and is looking forward to speaking to him upon his return.


On the Field:       

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that at least 15 prisoners were killed in Aleppo’s central prison which is besieged by opposition fighters.                           

The Observatory also reported sporadic clashes and some shelling in Qusayr on Tuesday, although the fighting was much lighter than in previous days.         

Syria's state-run news agency said a senior government official was killed in Qusayr. Rebels were responsible for the death of Ahmed al-Shaar, the chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee, the agency said. The report Tuesday gave no details on al-Shaar's death.


REUTERS/AP/LBCI


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